HALCOMBE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8841, 18 June 1907, Page 4

HALCOMBE.

{From Our Own Correspondent.] I was very pleased to learn that Mrs Macdonald, who had the misfortune to break one of her legs recently, is progressing as’ satisfactorily towards recovery as her family and friends could hope or anticipate. The proposed dates for the official inspection of our ride club as for- ' warded to head-quarters by the secretary, are first week in July and October, the second week in January and the first week in April; the day selected being Wednesday. Our headmaster, Mr Strachan, who lias obtained extended sick leave, has gone to New Plymouth and we all hope the change will have the desired effect. The wet weather of the past week has given place to frosty nights and picture days. I notice that a Wellington lady writer to the Times complains of the dearth of news. lam just now in | the same fix, and my field is more limited than hers and I wonder what the fair scribe would say or do as your Halcombe correspondent. Her smart 1 ‘Table Talk” about Halcombe fashions, the theatre, engagements, fashionable weddings, dances and wanderings, would bo expressed in one word—Nil. But Nil Desperaudum. I can pirt on top boots, get out of town tracks and into the mud, as I did on Friday, in search of —copy —or was it game? Seeing a, big bag of hares in the possesison of a Wellington visitor, who had been entertained and shown over the laud by an old Halcombe settler I concluded that there must be 801116" game loft iu the district. So with a companion I started on the hunt. The rain also started and kept with us all the day, but every sport who is keen on it docs not mind a soaking if he gets a shot now and then, . but in our case the nows and tlious were hours and miles apart. For the first time iu eight years I was without my faithful canine companion who loved the gnu and would -.work all day with that whole hearted devotion and intelligence that only a sportsman who loves his dog _ can fully understand and appreciate. Ho was a don at the business, and lie has, I hope,'gone to oven happier hunting grounds than those ho knew and delighted to work over here. My „ companion’s dogs worked well for youngsters, and the weather conditions no doubt induced the furry denizens of bush scrub' and rushes to sit very close and lie so low that the dogs passed over them. If "this wore not so I must conclude that this part of the country has been “shot out.” For thanks to farmer friends we were able to pass through and over special spots that had never before failed to supply game sufficient to fill a sack. I remembered and drippingly marked the change. _ Now 28 hares were obtained by three guns from one of the covers and not one was visible. When wo returned to the trap we compared notes and agreed that this had not been a good Friday for sport and doubted if we’d ever had such a blauky day. We also doubted if wo had a dry stitch on us. Personally all doubt on this point was soon removed for when crossing a flooded creek iu pursuit of the horse the log bridge rolled over and so did I and I was quite certain that everything I had on was in the wash. Cold? don’t mention it. With the foresight worthy of a first mate my companion had provided against contingencies and some essence of ginger, I did not, stop to examine the label, enabled me to survive the drive homo and smilingly reply to the welcoming question, “Well, what luck?”